INTRODUCTION.
Before we enter upon the discussion of the various topics which more strictly belong to the Christian system, we will offer a few introductory remarks in regard to theology in general, and the sources from which it is derived.
PART I.
OF THEOLOGY IN GENERAL.
In our remarks upon theology in general, we will notice its Nature, its Objects, and its Divisions.
§ 1. The Nature of Theology.
The term theology is derived from θεός, (theos,) God, and λόγος, (logos,) a discourse; and literlaly signified a discourse concerning God.
The ancient Greeks used the term according to its most literal signification, and hence, those who wrote the history of the gods, their works and exploits, were called ϑεολόγοι, or theologians. Pherecydes, of Scyros, was the first who was so denominated, and his work was entitled ϑεολογία, or Theology. Homer and Hesiod were theologians in this sense of the word.
In the writings of the Fathers the term is sometimes employed in a restricted sense to denote some particular doctrine concerning God. Accordingly, they speak of the theology of the sacred Trinity, and of the theology of the Son of God; that is, the doctrine of the Trinity, and of the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
But in the twelfth century Peter Abelard employed the term to denote particularly learned or scientific instruction in religion; and this use of the word was preserved by most of the succeeding theologians. In the seventeenth century, however, many of the Protestant divines gave the name of theology to any knowledge respecting God and divine things, thus using the word in its etymological sense.
